This invention relates generally to the field of baling presses and more particularly, to an improved wire tie guide and tying device for a baling press and a method of using the wire tie guide.
Wire ties are generally considered to be an economical and sure means for securing a bale of material, for example, cotton, that is being compacted by a baling press. The baling press has opposed upper and lower platens between which the material to be baled is compressed. The wire tie has looped ends that, upon being placed in opposition and moved together, engage with each other to form a knot in a well known manner. The upper and lower platens further have a plurality of pairs of opposed channel bars that guide the wire tie around the bale. One of the tie bars includes a tying device to hold a first looped end while the second, opposite looped end is manually fed past, and interconnected with, the first looped end, thereby engaging the looped ends into a knot.
The above general structure has been known for decades, and many different manual and automatic devices have been devised to engage the looped ends of the wire tie into a knot. With manually operated baling presses, the operation of wrapping the plurality of heavy gage wire ties around a compressed bale and thereafter, engaging the looped ends into a knot, is a very tiring task. Further, it is sometimes possible to engage the short leg of the stationary looped end of the wire tie instead of the main, longer leg; and when that happens, either the loops interlock as two fish hooks or they do not engage at all. In either situation, the wire ties must be disengaged and re-engaged into a proper knot which is a time consuming and further tiring operation. Thus, there is a continuing effort to provide a more reliable and easy to operate tying device by further simplifying the manipulations required by the user.
The present invention provides an improved design of a bale wire tying device which very reliably facilitates engaging the looped ends of the wire tie into a proper knot. Further, the bale wire tying device of the present invention is modular in construction, thereby permitting the tying device components to be replaced independently of the wire guide itself. Further, the tying device of the present invention has the further advantages of providing a simple, durable, low cost structure that is easier to use, more economical to service and overall provides a more user friendly operation.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention and in accordance with the described embodiments, the present invention provides a tying device having a wire guide member adapted to be mounted on a platen of a baling press. The wire guide member includes a top wall and side walls depending laterally from the top wall to form an elongated, longitudinally extending generally U-shaped channel within the wire guide member. The tying device further has a bottom wall intersecting one of the side walls to form a longitudinally extending wire discharge passage contiguous with the channel. A door is pivotally mounted proximate the one of the side walls at the forward end of the channel, and the door in a closed position has an unobstructed, flat inner surface substantially parallel to the top wall and extending across the discharge passage to form a portion of the bottom wall. The door has an inner, forward edge extending generally perpendicular to the side walls for guiding the wire tie into the channel. The tying device also has a first stop located on the top wall at the forward end of the channel generally opposite the forward edge of the door, The first stop has a forward directed wall depending from the top wall into the channel and is adapted to receive a looped end of the wire tie.
In one aspect of the invention, a lateral projection is mounted forward of the stop and extends in a direction generally perpendicular to the top wall for limiting the opening at the forward end of the channel. In another aspect of the invention, a second stop is located on the top wall forward of the first stop. The second stop has a rearward directed wall depending from the top wall into the channel and forming a notch with the forward directed wall of the first stop to prevent the looped end of the wire tie on the first stop from moving toward the forward end of the channel.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the above described tying device is used in a method of engaging the looped ends of the wire tie together. With the method, a first looped end of a length of wire tie is advanced into a forward end of the one of the wire guide members, through the channel, through the curved chute, through an opposite wire guide member and out the forward end of the opposite wire guide member. Next, the first end of the wire tie is pulled to advance the second looped end of the wire tie into the forward end of the channel until the second looped end engages the first stop and is inhibited from further advancement. The first looped end is again inserted adjacent the lateral projection into the forward end of the one of the wire guide members and located against the inner, forward edge of the door. Thereafter, a generally longitudinal pushing force is applied along the wire tie while moving the wire tie over the inner, forward edge of the door, thereby pushing the second looped end with the first looped end against the top wall and simultaneously sliding the first looped end rearward with respect to the second looped end without contacting the flat, inner surface of the door. That pushing action causes the first looped end to be properly guided over, and engage with, the second looped end to form the knot. The first looped end is then pulled forward with respect to the second looped end to tighten the knot. As the upper and lower platens are thereafter moved away from each other to release the tied bale, the wire tie is released through the discharge passage and the knot pushes past the door.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description together with the drawings herein.